UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

IMPROVEMENT STUDIES ON MANUFACTURING OPERATION DESIGN FOR MINT PILOT PLANT

ROSLI DARMAWAN

FK 2002 6

IMPROVEMENT STUDIES ON MANUFACTURING OPERATION DESIGN FOR MINT paOT PLANT

By

ROSLI DARMAWAN

Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, In Fulfilment of the Requirements for Degree of Master of Science

January 2002

Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science

11

IMPROVEMENT STUDIES ON MANUFACTURING OPERATION DESIGN FOR MINT PILOT PLANT

By

ROSLI BIN DARMAWAN

January 2002

Chairperson: Napsiah Ismail, Ph. D.

Faculty: Faculty of Engineering

The difficulty faced by MINT's researchers during the transformation process

from laboratory scale plant to pilot scale plant was investigated Analysis was carried

out on the methodology used, plant development stages and the plant characteristics

in order to identify the problem areas and weaknesses. Improvement effort on the

pilot plant design methodology, based on Manufacturing Sytem design techniques

was carried out. The effectiveness of the improvement on the design methodology

was analysed by comparing the plants' design parameters resulted from the existing

methodology with that of the proposed methodology. Further evaluation on the

plants operational performance was conducted through the plant operational

simulation. Both plants were modelled using a discrete-event simulation software.

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The model was validated by comparing the results of the simulation with the actual

operational data of the existing plant. Comparison from the design parameters and

plant operational perfonnance indicated that the proposed new plant performed

better than the existing plant. The proposed plant has higher plant capacity; requires

less floor area, capital cost and running cost; better machine, space and labour

utilisation; less throughput time and less production lead time. This result is a

manifestation of the plant design, which indicates that the proposed plant was

designed better than the existing plant. Thus, with this proposed design

methodology, MINT's researchers will be able to design a better pilot plant and

enable them to continue further with their research activities.

Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi keperluan untuk Ijazah Master Sains

KAJIAN PENINGKATAN KE ATAS REKABENTUK OPERASI PEMBUAT AN UNTUK LOJI PElUNTIS MINT

Oleb

ROSLI BIN DARMA WAN

Januari 2002

Pengerusi: Napsiab Ismail, Pb.D.

Fakulti: Kejuruteraan

Penyelidikan telah dijalankan ke atas masalah yang dihadapi oleh para

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penyelidik MINT sewaktu proses peralihan dari loji skala makma1 ke loji skala

perintis. Analisa telah dilakukan ke atas kaedah yang digun� proses

pembangunan loji dan ciri-ciri loji untuk mengenalpasti masalah dan kelemahan

sedia ada. Usaha-usaha peningkatan ke atas kaedah rekabentuk loji perintis telah

dilaksanakan berdasarkan dari teknik-teknik rekabentuk Sistem Pembuatan.

Perbandingan telah dibuat ke atas parameter rekabentuk hasil dari kaedah sedia ada

dan kaedah yang dicadangkan untuk menilai keberkesanannya. Penilaian lanjut ke

atas pre stasi operasi kedua-dua loji telah dilakukan melalui proses simulasi. Kedua-

dua loji telah dimodel menggunakan pekakasan simulasi jenis peristiwa-diskret.

Model simulasi telah disemak kesahihannya dengan membandingkan keputusan

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simulasi dengan rekod operasi sebenar loji sedia ada. Perbandingan parameter

rekabentuk dan prestasi operasi loji menunjukkan bahawa loji cadangan beroperasi

lebih baik dari loji sedia ada. Loji cadangan mempunyai kapasiti lebih tinggi;

memerlukan ruang lantai, kos modal dan kos operasi yang rendah; tahap

penggunaan mesin, ruang dan tenaga kerja yang lebih baik; daya pemerosesan dan

masa lopor. pengeluaran yang kurang. Keputusan ini adalah satu manifestasi

rekabentuk Ioji yang menunjukkan bahawa loji cadangan telah direkabentuk Iebih

baik dari loji sedia ada. Dengan adanya kaedah rekabentuk cadangan ini, para

penyelidik MINT akan dapat merekabentuk loji perintis dengan lebih baik dan

dapat meneruskan aktiviti-aktivi penyelidikan mereka dengan lebih lanjut lagi.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Tuan Haji Ir. Mohd Rasid

Osman for his valuable guidance throughout the duration of this study. I would like

to acknowledge the member of Supervisory Committee, Pn. Rosnah Mohd Y usuff,

Dr. Napsiah Ismail and Mr. Zulkiflle Leman, for their help, advise and guidance in

due course of preparing this thesis.

I would like to thank Dr. Mat Rasol Awang, the Head of Sterifeed Pilot Plant

Project, for giving me the oppurtunity to conduct the study on their pilot plant, his

invaluable help and sharing of experience throughout the study. To Engineering

Faculty of UPM, and many others who have made contributions, please be known

that you have my deepest appreciation.

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I certify that an Examination Committee met on 25th January, 2002 to conduct the final examination of Rosli bin Darmawan, on his Master of Science thesis entitled "Improvement Studies on Manufacturing Operation Design for MINT Pilot Plant" in accordance with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Higher Degree) Act 1980 and Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Higher Degree) Regulations 1 981 . The Committee recommends that the candidate be awarded the relevant degree. Members of Examination Committee are as follows:

HASAN YUDIE SASTRA, Ph.D. Facu!t'J of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia (Chairman)

NAPSIAH BT ISMAIL, Ph.D. Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia (Member)

ZULKIFLLE LEMAN. Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia (Member)

MEGAT MOHAMAD HAMDAN MEGAT AHMAD, Ph.D. Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia (Member)

�2 ---SHAMSHER MOHAMAD RAMADnJ, Ph.D.

ProfessorlDeputy Dean School of Graduate Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date: 3 APR 2002

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The thesis submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia has been accepted as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science.

AINI IDERIS, Ph.D. ProfessorlDean School of Graduate Studies Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Date:

IX

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis is based on my origional work except for quotations and citations which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted for any degree at UPM or other institutions.

2& RosAI BIN DARMA WAN

Date: � - t - ;.00 '2-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT ii ABSTRAK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS APPROVAL SHEETS DECLARATION FORM LIST OF TABLES

iv VI vii IX Xlll

LIST OF FIGURES YJV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xvi

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 General Background 1

1.2 Sterifeed Pilot Plant 2

1.3 Problem Definition 2

1.4 Objectives 3

1.5 Project Scope 4

1.6 Significance of the Study 4

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 General Introduction 6

2.2 Manufacturing Operation Design 8

2.2.1 Product Design 10

2.2.2 Process Design 10

2.2.3 Process Flow Design 14

2.2.4 Equipment/fechnology Selection 16

2.2.5 Location Planning 19

2.2.6 Facility Layout Design 21

2.2.7 Material Handling System Design 29

2.2.8 Design of Work System 31

2.2.9 SUIDlIlaIy 35

2.3 Sterifeed Pilot Plant 36

2.3.1 Sterifeed Pilot Plant Process 36

2.3.2 Sterifeed Pilot Plant Layout 37

2.3.3 Sterifeed Pilot Plant Capacity and Equipment 37

2.4 Computer Modelling and Simulation 41

2.4.1 Continuous Simulation 43

2.4.2 Discrete Event Simulation 44

2.4.3 Probability Distribution in Computer Modelling 45

2.5 Simulation Software: Extend 46

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3 METHOOOLOOY 49 3.1 The Study Method 49

3.1.1 Plant Investigation 49 3.1.2 Design Methodology Proposal 52 3.1.3 Redesign of the Pilot Plant 54 3.1.4 Simulation Study 55 3.1.5 Modelling Process 57 3.1.6 Plant Performance Evaluation 59

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 6 2 4.1 Pilot Plant Design Methodology 6 2

4.1.1 Design Objectives and Specifications 6 7 4.1.2 Process Design 68 4.1.3 Process Flow Design 69 4.1.4 Technology and Equipment Selection 70 4.1.5 Material Handling System 71 4.1.6 Work System Design 73 4.1.7 Quality System Design 73 4.1.8 Facility Layout Design 74 4.1.9 Overall Comparison: The Current and

the Proposed Methodology 75 4.2 Sterifeed Plant Design and Specification 76

4.2.1 Plant Capacity 77 4.2.2 Plant Layout 79 4.2.3 Capitalltems and Human Resources 85 4.2.4 Capital Costs and Running Costs 89

4.3. Modelling Process 90 4.3.1 The Distribution Model 96 4.3.2 Model Validation 97

4.4. Plant Operational Simulation 98 4.4.1 Plant Capacity 100 4.4.2 Equipment Utilisation 1 01 4.4.3 Cost and Revenue Impact 102 4.4.4 Labour Utilisation 105 4.4.5 Labour Productivity 106 4.4.6 Throughput Time and Production Lead Time 107 4.4.7 Inventory Level 110 4.4.8 Storage Facility Utilisation 112 4.4.9 Summary of the Plant Operational Performance 114

5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 115 5.1 Summary and Conclusion 115 5.2 Recommendation and Further Works 118

REFERENCES

APPENDICES A B C D E F G

VITA

Survey Letter for Sterifeed Plant Machines Machinery List for Sterifeed Pilot Plant Sample Calculation for Material Flow Analysis Work Method Analysis Calculation on Costs, Revenue and Productivity Sample Calculation for Modelling Data Additional Information on Probability Distribution Model

119

126

127

129

135

144

151

153

165

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xiii

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

2.1 Major Decision Variables in Equipment Selection 17 2.2 Work Method Design Aids 33 4.1 Comparison of the Current Design Methodology and the

Proposed Design Methodology 6 5 4.2 Example of Design Objectives for Both the Current Design

Methodology and the Proposed Design Methodology. 6 7 4.3 Comparison of Workstations Capacity Between the Present

Plant and the New Plant 78 4.4 Comparison on the Plant Layout of the Present Plant and the

Proposed Plant. 81 4.5 Comparison on the Machine's Floor Area Requirement

Between the Present Plant and the New Proposed Plant 81 4.6 The Number of Operators and Capital Items for Both the

Present Plant and the New Proposed Plant 86 4.7 Comparison on Work Method Between PVC Soaking Bins and

Soaking Tank at SoakIDrain Station 87 4.8 Percentage of Idle Time of the Operators and Machineries for

the Proposed New Plant 88 4.9 The Performance of One Operator-two Stations System

Operation 89 4.10 Comparison of the Capital Costs for Both the Existing

Plant and the Proposed New Plant 91 4.11 Comparison ofRwming Costs Between the Existing

Plant and the Proposed New Plant 91 4.12 Input Data from the Present Plant for Extend Modelling 93 4.13 Input Data from the Proposed Plant for Extend Modelling 94 4.14 Simulation Results of Three Different Models for the Existing

Plant 98 4.15 Simulation Results of the Present Plant 99 4.16 Simulation Results of the Proposed Plant 100 4.17 Summmy of the Existing Plant and the Proposed Plant

Performance 114

xiv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

2.1 Product-process Matrix As a Guide for Process Selection. 12 2.2 An Example of Flow Process Chart. 15 2.3 Machine Selection by Break-even Analysis 18 2.4 RELChart 24 2.5 Activity Relationship Diagram 25 2.6 Worker-machine Chart to Analyse Worker and

Machine Coordination. 34 2.7 Sterifeed Pilot Plant Process 3 9 2.8 Layout Plan of Sterifeed Pilot Plant 40 2. 9 Some Examples of Extend's Blocks. 46 2.10 An Example of Extend's Script. 46 2.11 Block Diagram Programming in Extend. 47 2.12 Example of Pop-up Dialogue Window in Extend. 47 3.1 Flowchart of the Methodology 50 3.2 The Basic Flow of Modelling Process 58 4.1 The flow of Sterifeed Plant Development Process 63 4.2 flowchart of the Proposed Design Methodology. 64 4.3 The Example of Process Flow Design for the Current Design

Methodology 69 4.4 The Example of Process Flow Design for the Proposed

Design Methodology 70 4.5 Plant Layout of the Proposed Plant. 80 4.6 The Systematic Layout Planning for the Proposed Plant 84 4.7 A sample of Extend model for Sterifeed plant. 95 4.8 Comparison Between Actual Processing Time With the

Processing Time Generated Using Normal Distribution and Triangular Distribution Model 96

4. 9 A Sample Output From Extend Simulation 99 4.10 Comparison of Production Capacity Between the Present 101

Plant and the Proposed Plant 4.11 Machine Utilisation in the Present Plant and

the New Plant 102 4.12 The Increment of Cost and Revenue Between the Present

Plant and the Proposed New Plant. 103 4.13 The Productivity Increment in Term of Cost Between

Present Plant and the Proposed Plant. 104 4.14 Labour Utilisation in Both the Present Plant and

the New Plant. 105 4.15 Labour Productivity lncrement Between the Present Plant

and the New Proposed Plant. 106

4.16

4.1 7

4.18

4.l 9

Throughput Time for All Production Lines in the Present Plant and the Proposed Plant. Production Lead Time of the Present Plant and the Proposed Plant. Inventory Level Pattern at Inoculation and Incubation Sections of the Existing Plant. Inventory Level Pattern for Inoculation and Incubation Sections of the New Plant.

xv

108

1 09

1 1 0

1 1 1

xvi

LIST OF ABBBREVIA TIONS

ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers

EFB Empty Fruit Bunch

FEFB Fennented Empty Fruit Bunch

FP Final Processing

IMP2 Second Industrial Master Plan

INOC Inoculation

IOPF Inoculated Oil Palm Fibre

IS Incubation Section

KBS Knowledge Base System

:MHS Material Handling System

MINT Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research

MITI MinistIy of International Trade and Industry

OPF Oil Palm Fibre

PVC Poly Vinyl Chloride

R&D Research and Development

REL Relationship

RM7 Rancangan Malaysia ke Tujuh

SLP Systematic Layout Planning

SOPF Sterilised Oil Palm Fibre

SPLI Substrate Preparation Line 1

SPU Substrate Preparation Line 2

WIP Work in Process

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General Background

Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT) conducts research and

development (R&D) programmes in nuclear and related technology. Since its

establishment in 1972 the R&D activities have been focused on basic research in

nuclear science and the customisation of nuclear technology in Malaysia. The

activities were focused on bringing the developed nuclear technology from abroad

and customised them to suit local needs (MINT, 1996).

By the end of 1980's, MINT started to venture into the generation and development

of new products and processes, either in collaboration with the private sectors or

with the international and local R&D institutions. This shift is in line with the

objective of the Second Industrial Master Plan (IMP2) to encourage R&D growth in

Malaysia (MITI, 1998).

MINT Technology Park was launched in 1998 to support the development of this

new R&D activities. It functions as a centre to strengthen MINT's capability in the

development of the new technology from laboratory scale to the design of pilot plant,

and finally for commercialisation process. One of the pilot plant developed in MINT

Technology Park is Sterifeed pilot plant (MINT, 1998).

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1.2 Sterifeed Pilot Plant

Sterifeed pilot plant is the outcome of an almost ten years of extensive research and

development on the upgrading of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) to ruminant feed.

With the idea of recycling, green technology and zero waste concept, the EFB has

been identified to have huge potential to be converted into a good quality animal

feed product (Alang, 1998).

By adopting the sterilisation and fermentation technology, the EFB is converted into

pallet form of ruminant feed which have nutritional value and digestibility

comparable to Oil Palm Frond (OPF) silage diet. The sterilisation process is for the

elimination of any toxic content in EFB, whereas the fermentation with pleurotus

sajor-caju (a mushroom species) is to reduce fibre content and increase protein

content in EFB. The name 'Sterifeed' comes from the phrase 'sterillised feed'

indicating the technology being used for the product (Awang et al., 1998).

1.3 Problem Definition

As mentioned in section 1.1, the main activities in MINT Technology Park is the

development and evaluation process of the discovered technology from laboratory

scale to pilot plant, and finally to the commercialisation stage. The first phase of this

development process is the design of pilot plant. Sterifeed pilot plant was designed

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and developed by a group of MINT's researchers after the completion of laboratory

scale studies.

The evaluation made by Sterifeed plant's researchers showed that the plant failed to

produce the intended production volume of 15,000 kg/month. The plant only

produced 700 kg/month of animal feed, which is only about 4.6% of the intended

capacity. The result also showed that the plant has serious bottleneck problems in its

production lines due to unbalanced capacity between its workstations (Awang et ai.,

1998). Discussion with Sterifeed plant's researchers revealed that they faced

difficulties during the design of the pilot plant. They do not have any prior

experience and knowledge in the design of pilot plant. The pilot plant was designed

based on trial and error without reference to any manufacturing plant design method

Therefore, the above phenomenon needs further investigation to identify the

problems and difficulties faced during the design process of Sterifeed pilot plant.

This investigation will open opportunities for improvement of the situation and

fmally to come up with the solutions.

1.4 Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

a) To study and identify the methodology used by Sterifeed plant's researchers

during transformation process from laboratory scale to pilot plant.

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b) To evaluate and compare the methodology used during transformation process

with manufacturing plant design techniques.

c) To propose a methodology for a more successful transformation process from

laboratory scale to pilot plant.

1.5 Project Scope

The scope of the project is limited to a case study of the Sterifeed pilot plant, which

is located in MINT Technology Park. This plant is a processing plant which

transforms oil palm fibre (OPF) into animal feed product called Sterifeed

The investigation is focused on the transformation process from laboratory scale

experiment into pilot plant. This process is sometimes described as the scaling-up

process from laboratory scale to pilot plant scale (Barr et al.,1994). The process

involves the design of pilot plant based on the findings from laboratory scale

experiments. Therefore, the transformation process may also be referred to as the

design of pilot plant.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study will be able to identify the weaknesses of the current methodology used by

MINT's researchers in designing their pilot plant. A proposal on a new and improved

5

design methodology will be able to help the researchers to come up with a better

plant design. A better plant design with a reasonably good pilot plant operation will

enable the researchers to focus on the optimisation process of the pilot plant and to

continue further with the R&D of the product.

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CBAPTER TWO

LITER ATURE REVIEW

2.1 General Introduction

Pilot plant is defined as a manufacturing plant which operates at a smaller capacity

of the actual plant. It also known as an experimental plant which functions as a

testing ground to establish the optimum process and to study critical operational data

which will be used to design the full·scale plant (Simdean, 1998).

The study on pilot plant design can be categorised into a few different scopes. There

are studies which focus on specific aspects of a pilot plant design. Hills et aI. (1993)

focused on plant layout design for made-to--order products. His study combined an

algorithm method with a knowledge based system (KBS) to come up with a near·

optimal layout design. The algorithm requires the input from the KBS in order to

solve the design problem. With continuous iteration of the algorithm, together with

the set criterion, a near-optimal layout solution is obtained. The layout is then, ready

to be converted into a more typical layout format for the final layout design. Lyu

(1997) proposed an algorithm technique for assembly line balancing problem. The

proposed algorithm is based on the single-run optimisation approach which is

applied to find the optimal parameters of the model. This approach integrates a

perturbation analysis algorithm, to estimate the derivatives of the model, and a

stochastic approximation algorithm, to update its estimate for optimal solution of the

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problem. The optimal assembly line is obtained through iterative process of both

algorithms after the model met its predetermined objectives. Herrman et al. (1995)

studied the combination of network design model and heuristic method for material

handling flow design. The network design model incorporates critical parameters

such as fixed costs, operating costs and aisle capacities which are formulated in

several governing equations. The equations are derived from Cartesian grid nodes

constructed from the actual plant layout. The equation are solved using heuristic

algorithm developed for the model to obtain a near--optimal solution and to assess

solution quality. All of these studies are too specific and quite complicated to be

used by MINT's research scientists. The study by Bar et al. (1994) brought together

interdisciplinary skills from manufacturing engineering, quality engineering,

development, research and consultants to focus on a given problem and attempt to

hypothesise or model the problem in a laboratory scale plant. Although this approach

will be able to analyse and solve many aspects of pilot plant design, however it

requires the involvement of many parties from different organisations and is only

practical for a national scale development project.

The most common practice in pilot plant design is using the same methodology used

for the design of a full scale manufacturing plant. The only difference is that the

pilot plant is designed as a scale down version of the actual manufacturing plant.

These methods adopt basic techniques and cover all aspects of a manufacturing

operation design (Mc Kenna, 1999). Thus, for this study, the basic methodology of

manufacturing operation design was used since it covers all aspects of a

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manufacturing plant design, uses simple design techniques and suitable for the initial

development effort made by MINT's researchers.

2.2 Manufacturing Operation Design

The term manufacturing may be defined as 'the production of tangible finished

products that can be numbered, stored and consumed at a later date' (Monks, 1987).

It may also be described in comparison with the service operation where the

manufacturing operatiollS have low customer contact, long response time, large

facilities and capital intensive. Whereas service operations produce products that are

intangible, perishable, cannot be stored, have high customer contact, short response

time, small facilities and a labor intensive operation (Krajewski et al., 1998).

The definition of operation may be as simple as 'the conversion of input into output

, (Weiss et al.,1991) or 'the process whereby resources flowing within a defined

system, are combined and transformed into value added products' (Monks,1987).

Therefore, manufacturing operation design may be defined as the planning of the

process that combine and transform resources into value added finished products that

are tangible, durable, can be stored and consumed at a later date.